Offering a clarification amid the ongoing Sainik colony controversy, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday asserted that no such land had been allotted by state government in the matter and called on her predecessor Omar Abdullah to stop from stirring trouble by indulging in rumour-mongering.

Offering a clarification amid the ongoing Sainik colony controversy, Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti on Monday asserted that no such land had been allotted by state government in the matter and called on her predecessor Omar Abdullah to stop from stirring trouble by indulging in rumour-mongering.

“First of all, no such land has been allotted in the matter and secondly, the demand has been made by the soldiers who belong from Jammu and Kashmir. But until today the government has never allotted any land to them,” Mufti told reporters here.

Asserting that Omar was repeating his mistake of churning up old facts and presenting them as new developments, she added that he should not indulge in spreading such rumours right ahead of a busy tourist season.

“He should not indulge in such activities. Why is he stirring up trouble now and spreading rumours when it is tourist season? I appeal to the people not to fall for such rumours,” Mufti added.

Earlier, Omar Abdullah has said the glaring contradiction of the PDP-BJP Government in Jammu and Kashmir on the proposal, which is in violation of Article 370, has given rise to apprehensions about their underlying political motive.

“Considering their record of over the past one year, the people have serious apprehensions. It could be a ruse to settle non-state subjects in Kashmir and hence bypass Article 370,” he said while addressing his party workers in Baramulla district.

According to reports, the Kashmiri separatists have threatened to stage a mass agitation if land is allotted for setting up residential colonies for the armed forces personnel. They are of the view that any such move would be seen as a deliberate attempt on the Mehbooba Mufti-led government’s part to change the state’s demography.

A day after media reported that the Jammu and Kashmir Government has fast-tracked identification of land for setting up residential colonies for the armed forces, Education Minister Naeem Akhtar claimed they have no plan to allot land for the purpose.

In April 2015, the Rajya Sainik Board (RSB), headed by Governor N N Vohra, approved establishment of a Sainik Colony in Srinagar close to the old airport.

In a note to the Home department, the RSB said 173 kanals (21.6 acres) of land had been identified for the Sainik Colony and approval had been sought from then chief minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.